What Ever Happened To . . . Wildfire Tommy Rich?

WRESTLING - WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO . . .

A job pumping gas after school and on weekends put Tommy Richardson in contact with some of the most popular professional wrestlers in Tennessee.

In the back of his mind, Richardson was planning on using some of those connections he made in his hometown of Hendersonville, Tenn., to map out a career.

"I grew up around professional wrestling and plenty of wrestlers. [Promoter] Eddie Marlin was at the hospital when I was born. I've known [wrestler, promoter] Jerry Jarrett since I was a little kid,'' Richardson said.

"I met a lot of guys: Jerry Lawler, Tommy Gilbert, Eddie Gilbert and others when I was working at the Gulf station." The station was close to an arena that hosted pro wrestling shows, and the grapplers would stop and fill up there on their way out of town.

Sometimes they would sit around with the young, starry-eyed Richardson and tell stories about their battles in the ring and life on the road. Those tales made the high school football star more eager than ever to join the professional wrestling fraternity.

When he decided on a career in the ring, Richardson changed his name to Tommy Rich. He made his debut in 1974 at the age of 18. The aforementioned Jarrett, Lawler and Dick Steinborn all had a hand in training the Tennessee native.

He was the perfect "baby-face." Rich's good looks and country-boy image went over well with the Tennessee crowds where he got his start. "Wildfire" Tommy Rich would eventually become National Wrestling Alliance World Champion.

Today, at age 44, Rich is still active in wrestling, although the schedule is not as hectic. The wrestler, who has also tried his hand at promoting some shows, lives in Hampton, Ga., with his wife Terry and three daughters.

"I do shows on weekends a couple of times a month, stuff like that," Rich said. "I've been fortunate that I've been able to do it as long as I have. You know, 26 years -- that's a long time to be wrestling."

During his heyday, Rich was on television every week working with Georgia Championship Wrestling, the old NWA and World Championship Wrestling. Business was good.

These days on the independent circuit, the paydays and the crowds are smaller, and there's no TV. Rich has worked for the Northern States Wrestling Alliance and Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling this year. The fans still remember him from his days as "Wildfire."

"I was fortunate that I worked a lot of different territories,'' Rich said. "I worked all over the country, and being on TBS I had great exposure, and the fans still remember."

In 1981 Rich won the NWA belt from Harley Race. His reign was a short one -- five days -- but he says it was the highlight of his career.

"To be the world champion was awesome. I was still just this young kid, you know. I was just 25 years old,'' he recalled.

Rich would wrestle for the world title again on several occasions, but he never reclaimed it. Then he began to concentrate on tag-team events and had successful runs with a long string of partners. Tony Atlas, Stan Hansen, Mr. Wrestling II, Superstar Bill Dundee and Thunderbolt Patterson all teamed with Rich to win championship belts. Atlas and Rich captured the NWA Georgia tag-team belts in the late '70s.

"Tommy Rich and I had a very good chemistry,'' Atlas said. "Our different styles complemented each other perfectly. I used my strength, and he used his speed and wrestling skill. He was one of my favorite partners, and the fans loved us."

Although Rich has spent most of his years working as a fan favorite, he has been known to bend the rules a bit.

"I enjoyed working on the side of the fans, but sometimes to keep things interesting, you've got to change up a bit,'' Rich said.

A couple of years ago with Extreme Championship Wrestling, Rich worked as "The Big Don." It was his final stint with one of the big three promotions.

"Paul Heyman and I worked together for WCW back in the late '80s and early '90s,'' Rich said. "Now I am happy hustling to work independent shows when I can."